If you have followed this thread for a while, you would've seen my post about how mega passes breathed new life into a ski industry that was struggling to find its footing after the Great Recession. Skier visits were anemic for many years between from when that shit went down to when the pass wars started (I consider it 2018 when the Ikon Pass was launched). It wasn't that long ago that the industry was hurting for skier visits. Now they have them and people are complaining that there are too many.
You may notice that I rarely complain that there are too many people at a resort. This is because I understand that resorts need crowded days to make money. If you want fewer skier visits, then do you really want your home mountain to succeed?
Yes, I am a stickler for lift throughput. If a resort is crowded, your ability to take runs depends entirely on that resort's ability to move people up the mountain. That means running lifts as fast as possible, avoiding stops and slows, and filling every seat. Failure to do any of these means you, as a customer, will get fewer runs.
Every resort does have a comfortable carrying capacity, and with mega passes that level has been exceeded at some resorts. Likewise, many resorts are taking measures to increase their comfortable carrying capacity. Here are just a few examples:
Big Sky, Loon, and Sunday River have undertaken major lift upgrades to improve uphill capacity and terrain utilization, while reducing choke points.
Vail Resorts just built 19 lifts across their resorts, mostly to replace older lifts with new higher capacity lifts, but they also built some lifts where there wasn't one before, like Vail's Sun Down Express to even further increase uphill capacity and reduce wait times.
Killington had issues with overcrowding in their K1 Lodge, so they built a brand new lodge that's twice the size of the old one.
Snowmass just released a comprehensive plan to upgrade lifts and expand skiable acres to comfortably accommodate more skiers on the mountain.
Crystal Mountain in Washington encouraged carpooling and offered bus transportation for free to work around their limited parking.
My previous post was referring to those who are against any upgrades to improve a resort's comfortable carrying capacity, because they would rather have fewer skiers instead. I don't understand why any skier is opposed to lift upgrades. They are done to reduce wait times and give you more runs. Same goes for other facility upgrades like lodges. I do get why some would be against changes made to parking. I'm opposed to paid parking, but I'm all for encouraging carpooling and public transit.
There are two ways to reduce skier visits at resort. First is price increases, and the second is firm capacity limits. If you want ticket or pass prices to increase, then keep in mind that it might be someone you know or maybe even you who gets priced out of a particular resort. The same goes for other measures to limit crowds, like capping ticket or pass sales, or requiring reservations. If a resort is turning people away, then it could always end up being you who gets turned away. All I'm saying is be careful what you wish for.
